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HENRY e. .rnnnson 0F NEW YORK, N. Y. Leners Patent No. 73,379, daredJanuary 14, 186s.

MEGHANIGAL TOY.

, TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:.

Be it known that I, HENRY G. PEAnsoN, o? the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certainA Improvements in Mechanical Toys; andIdo hereby declare that thc following, tri-ken in connection with thedrawings which accompany and forni part of this specification, is adescription of my invention suiiicient to enable those skilled in theart to practise'it.

Most mechanical toys are either complicated or costly. When elaboratomachinery resembling clockwork' is employed topropel them, or to givemotions to the movable parts, it is eusily deranged, and then the toyloses its principal attraction, and is apt to be laid aside as' useless,the czipense ofrepairing being frequently Agreater than theoriginnlcost. I

A' simple and attractive toy, in which, by the mere rolling of a hooporwheel, at the centro of which an image or other object is suspended, andthus given 4a. sort of swinging motion, hns been heretofore made, andhas proven very popular.

My invention has for its object'an improvement upon this class of toys;and it consists in giving to the limbs of' thel toy-animals suspended inthe ring, or to the members or parte of any other object so suspended,determined movements, or positive' movements by mechanism of thesimplest kind, not liable to damage or derangexnent, the motionrgiviugmechanism being brought into action by the mere rolling of the hoop orwheel.

Figure 1 of the-drawings aiords an illustration of one of the almostendless forms in which my inventionv may be embo'died.

Figur`e`2 represents the same when viewed from the side, .und-exhibits,also, my improved construction of the hoop. l

Figure represents, detached, a view of the axis upon which the centralimage is suspended, and which also is so bent as to form the cranks',which give the'desiredy motions to thernoving parts..

Figure -l is a detachedview ofthe crank, showing its connection with alink, which, through it, gives motion to the limbs; and also amodication of such connection oi' the crank: with the limb, the samebeing by means of a slot in a. rigid arm, projecting from -the limb.

Instead of employing for the hoop or wheel a sheet of tin, as iscustomary, and then, for the sake oi giving the requisite' strength,binding it with a'strong edging of wire, I form my ring with thewiremerely, dispensing entirely with the sheet metal. The advantages 'ofthis construction are, not only greater rapidity and cheapness in themanufacture, but also the more important one of nifording a clear and.uninterrupted view of the object from all directions, unobstructed bythe intel-position of the bren-d wheel between the contrai object andthe eye of the observer. These wire rings I prefer to unito into askeleton frame, es shown in iig.v 2, composed merely oftwo or morerings, A, united by cross-ties, B, of wire, which 4may he soldered orotherwise secured thereto. In awheel thus constructed, as shown at A inthe figures, I attach to the opposite sides of each wire ringacross-wire, C, bisecting the same, these two cross-Wires a'ilbrding aHuppert for another Wire, D, at the centre or axis of the rin'g.Instead, however, of making this wire, I), in a Straightline, asheretofore, merely es a point of suspension for a swinging body, I forniit as shown at fig. 3, bent into the ferm of cranks, two such cranksbeing suilicicnt to impart the motions needed for the movements et thelegs of a quadruped, although when more or different motions arerequired, more cranks, or cranks arranged indifferent relations to eachother, will of course be demanded.4 The parts marked E and F must ofcourse he in line with each other, and should be in line with the centreof therings, unless, for the purpose' of producing irregglaror grotesquemovements, it be desired to locatethem elsewhere. To each crank areconnected two links or wires, Gr, whose other ends are connected to theupper and shorter arms of the legs, which are hung as loose levers uponpivots secured to the body of the image, as shown in the drawings. Inthe construction, shown in iig. 1, one crankis connected to the tworight legs, and the other to the two left lege, the legs beingweightedsufiiciently to insure their always hanging down.

The e`ect and operation of a toy' so constructed, when the wheel isrolled about, is as follows: Each revolution of the wheel causesa-revolution of the cranks which are secured to it, and inasmuch as thetoy is s0 weighted as not to revolve coincidently with them, the cranksmust of necessity give motion tothe links, which impart it to the legs.By this means the legs derive a motion closely resembling that of theliving animal, the`v feet upon either side approaching cach other,whilst those upon the other side recede` from each other, and viceversa. When, however, it is needed to exhibit the movements of a leapingquadruped, the fore feet may be made to move together in one direction,whilst the hind feet move together in the opposite direction, by merelychanging the connections of the links with thelegs, so that one crankshall be connected with both fore legs, and the other with both hindlegs. v v i It is obvious that by variations in the length or number ofthe cranks, or in their points of connection with the links, or in thelength of the links,or in their points of connections with the objectsor parts of the body to'be moved, or in the fulcra of the limbs or otherpart of the body, which is pivoted for the purpose of being .changed inits position, or by tlie multiplicationvof connecting-links, all in anywell-known manner familiar to mechanics, the range of `motionsattainable by my invention is almost without limit, the rolling-of thewheel being the'motive-power, and theconsequent revolution of the crankcommunicating whatever resultant motions fancy or 'taste may demand,dependent merely upon the form and character of the intermediate linksand connections.'v Instead of links like G, a single piece of wire, bentat each end into the form of a hook or eye, passin'gthrough andconnecting with a hole in the part ,to whichv it is desired to. givemotion, may be used. Instead of snclrmovable links as above described,the limb orothcr object may have a rigid slotted arm projecting. fromit, somewhat as shown at I-I, in iig: 4, the'crank passing through thisslot. All the cranks, connections, and pivots may be concealed andprotected within the body of theanimal or other object.

Figure 5 represents a modification of my invention, in which the wheel Ais identical in structure with that n above described, except that,instead of two bisecting wires, a sing-le rod or wire, K, rigidlysecured at one end to `on'e of. the cross-braces I, and free at itsother end, which terminates at or near the centre ofthe ring, forms theonly support for the image or object to be put in motion. The revolutionofthe Wheel mustot` course carry this wire or rod with it, and alsowhatever object is secured to its inner end. All, therefore, revolvetogether. AIo give the parts towhich additional motions are to beimparted, movements resembling those which appertain to them, itissimply necessary that they be loosely jointed about at the same relativepoints as in the real object or body, and that there be some limit orcheck to prevent these parts assuming posi-tions which, in the realobject, are unnatural or impossible. When sdch checks are not employed,very ludicrous and grotesquel move# ments and attitudes are produced. Inthe image illustrated in iig. 5, I have shown the arms, thighs, andknees jointed, the joint i n this case being a wirevloop, answering atthe same time for a pivot and a detent or arrester of motion, the lettera designating the pivot, 6 thc detent, and c such ears, nicks, or facesas serve toarrest the further motion in one direction of the movableparts the moment they comein contact with b. Instead of using suchloop,the limbs may swing on a pivot, and be arrestedin their motions byanother pin or projection, suitably located. The' revolution of thewheel, carrying with it such a figure as is represented in fig. 5,causes it to mimic with surprising accuracy the graceful movements of askillful athlete. By having the wire, K, sufieiently slender to permitit te get a slight vibratory motion, other effects are produced, whichin many cases enhance the value and attractiveness of the toy.

It is evident that when constructed 'substantially as shown in iig. 1,if the axis be projected a short distance through bothsides of the bodyof the image, so as to form. bearings, the wheel may then be suspendedupon supports, or in a handle, or by cords, and instead of rolling upona plane, as hereinbefore stated, it may then berevolved on the points ofsuspension Without rollingv away from the person. The positive motionsof the iamage in such caseremain the same, but the opportunities forinspecting them are better. i

1.` I claim a. mechanical toy, the positive motions of whose parts arederived from a crank or cranks on the axis of 'a rolling or revolvinghoop. i

2. I claiml the combination, with such a crank or cranks, of .a systemor systems of connecting-links, substantially as shown and described.

3. I claim, in combination, a revolving hoop, carrying a suspended imageor toy which does not revolve, but whose members are given positiveanddetermined movements, substantially as described.

.4. I claim the combination, with the rolling hoop of amcchanical toy,of a radial arm, projecting from the hoop towards its centre, as and forthe purpose set forth.

l 5.l I claim the combination, with such a hoop and radial arm, of ajointed image.

HENRY G. PEARSON.

Witnesses:

C. E. HAnTUNe. N. J. ToMnn.

